An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth's surface caused by a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere, which generates seismic waves. It is also referred to as a quake, tremor, or temblor. Earthquakes can range in strength from those that are so small that no one can feel them to those that are powerful enough to throw things and people into the air, destroy vital infrastructure, and devastate entire cities. The number, kind, and size of earthquakes that occur in a region over a specific period of time is known as its seismic activity. The average rate of seismic energy release per unit volume is what is known as seismicity at a specific region on Earth. Tremors, which are not earthquakes, are also referred to as seismic rumbling. Living in non-earthquake regions like western Europe makes it difficult for residents to comprehend the terrifying nature of large earthquakes.
As the ground beneath one's feet shakes violently, it is impossible to put into words how one feels. Even a scientist who works in seismology could experience fear when confronted by an earthquake of a strong intensity. In addition to such psychological trauma, people who reside in seismically active nations frequently experience earthquake-related actual damages. The greatest earthquake, known as the Kanto, which struck the Tokyo area on September 1, 1923, completely destroyed Japan's industrial heartland. More than 100,000 people died, the majority from fires that started shortly after the shock. Large cities in other parts of the world, like the western United States, South America, Turkey, Yugoslavia, and so forth, are in a similar scenario. If the 1906 San Francisco earthquake happened again, it is predicted that $4,500,000,000 worth of damage would result.
But, contemporary technology has now developed a rough method of weather forecasting. Although though information may now reach people well in advance of a tragedy, certain nations still struggle with these issues. The unanticipated earthquake in Turkey has just caused a significant loss of lives and property. Two weeks after the region was devastated by quakes that claimed the lives of more than 47,000 people in both nations, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the Turkey-Syria border region killed about three persons. Where are the scientists, though, is still a question? Many prominent professors from then-advanced nations were invited to Japan during the start of its new culture in the late 19th century. Some of them became fascinated with earthquake phenomena after being horrified by the regular earthquakes in Japan. They founded the first seismological society in the world along with experts from Japan.
So, approximately 90 years ago, Japan served as the starting point for scientific studies on earthquakes. The Imperial Earthquake Research Committee was founded in order to advance earthquake research following the Nobi earthquake in 1891. Since then, earthquake research in Japan has advanced consistently. The Japanese government was inspired to strengthen research in a more contemporary manner by the 1923 Kanto earthquake. The Tokyo Imperial University then created the Earthquake Research Institute (now the University of Tokyo). The Earthquake Research Institute did extensive research on earthquakes during a 40-year span, working with several seismological institutes affiliated with national universities and the Central Meteorological Observatory (now the Japan Meteorological Agency). Since the start of earthquake research in Japan, particularly during the 40 years of study following the Kanto earthquake, Japanese seismologists have been working on various methods to try and forecast earthquakes yielding positive result.